The Social Conquest of Earth

– Tom Uytterhoeven –

I just started reading Edward O. Wilson’s book “The Social Conquest of Earth”, and almost on page 1 (actually, it was page 7) I was struck by a telling sentence.

Wilson paints a grim picture of the human condition. And adds to this: “Religion will never solve this great riddle.” He states that religion is “(…) a Darwinian device for survival”. Art (literature, the visual arts) and philosophical introspection are dismissed on the same grounds: they are instances of “unaided rational inquiry.”

It’s as good an example of Ian Barbour’s conflict-model for the relation between religion (theology) and the sciences as you can get. And it will be my pleasure to contradict Wilson’s claims 😉 To be continued…

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